The Biomedical Therapies drugs, electroconvulsive therapy and psychosurgery.

MAOIs vs. SSRIs Both strengthen the action of serotonin and norepinephrine. MAOIs – (monoamine oxidase inhibitors) interfere with the enzymes that break down neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine. SSRIs - (selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors) keep serotonin in circulation by blocking reabsorption of the neurotransmitter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SHBnExxub8

The advantages of SSRIs: They are inherently more effective in treating depression. Fewer side effects Broader range of uses than competing drugs (depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD).

Side effects have included headaches, nausea, insomnia and weight loss Side effects have included headaches, nausea, insomnia and weight loss. However, these are far less serious than the low blood pressure, heart disturbances, blurred vision, and weight gain produced by older drugs. People unable to tolerate MAOIs have been successful in taking SSRIs.

Electroconvulsive therapy: While the public often believes that the treatment is only imposed on troublesome or unwilling patients, the typical ECT patient is white, female, middle-aged and from a middle-to-upper-income background.

The treatment is usually done in a private hospital due to the expense and complexity of the procedure. The aim of ECT is to produce a seizure. The procedure takes about 5 minutes, complications are rare, and patients sleep through the procedure.

Improvements in ECT: The intensity of the electrical charge has been cut in half and its duration has been reduced from one second to 1/25 of a second. The sessions themselves have been reduced from as often as three times a day to no more than three a week.

The total length of treatment has been decreased from more than 20 sessions to typically 10 or fewer. Both anesthetics and muscle relaxants are now used and brain waves and the electrical functioning of the heart are monitored through EEG and EKG.

How does ECT compare with alternative treatments for depression? When compared with antidepressant drugs, ECT has proved either as effective or more effective. ECT is not effective in treating other forms of mental disorders. Overall, ECT can help 70-80 percent of all people with major depressive disorder. However, ECT is not a cure. Patients, especially those with a history of recurrent depression, are more likely to relapse unless they receive some form of medication or therapy following ECT.

Psychosurgery By 1949, when Egas Moniz won a Nobel prize for developing the lobotomy, tens of thousands had been lobotomized – alcoholics, criminals, the mentally retarded (including JFK’s sister Rosemary Kennedy). During the 1950’s, calming drugs became available and psychosurgery was largely abandoned.

Lobotomies are no longer performed and other psychosurgery is only used in extreme cases. For the most part, psychosurgery has become taboo, even though refinements targeting very limited areas in the brain are much safer. Neurosurgeons perform operations at the risk of being picketed. Moniz himself was shot and left partially paralyzed by one of his lobotomized patients.

Preventing Psychological Disorders Should we replace the pervasive “disease” model with in psychology with a “wellness” model?

teaching competence The term refers to both practical skills, such as those necessary to do a job well and social skills, for example, the ability to communicate and control anger. It starts in childhood.

social-system modification Help to foster environments that promote wellness. Institutions such as schools, churches and workplaces must be educated on how to promote wellness.